Jiraiya detests war,
He can't understand why humans ignore the wonderful things in life and instead always pursue life-and-death struggles.
Isn't enjoying the scenery better?
Isn't traveling around the ninja world enticing?
Isn't writing novels comfortable?
If none of those work, appreciating the exquisite form of a woman in a bath... isn't that thrilling?
Good, clever, comfortable, and thrilling... but Jiraiya knows that's just him, what he desires and pursues, not others... besides, he can't represent others.
Just like how Orochimaru rebelled against Konoha, something he could never have imagined, even... completely unexpected....
It made him question life, frequently asking himself whether the traitor Orochimaru was the same Orochimaru he knew, or whether he, Jiraiya, was no longer himself... Lost, he often zoned out, even while on the front lines in the Land of Grass, facing the dual pressures of Cloud and Rock groups....
"Lord Jiraiya....."
"Lord Jiraiya....."
Two calls interrupted the man's thoughts, pulling him back from his distraction,
Jiraiya's white hair draped like a lion's mane behind him, a forehead protector with the kanji for "oil" on his head, wearing a brown ninja suit with a red coat, saw it was Shikaku,
The man coughed twice, using it to conceal his embarrassment and said: "Oh, it's Shikaku,"
At the Konoha army's station, in the makeshift wartime command center, a slender man with drooping eyes and a scar on his right cheek near the jawline entered as the door curtain lifted,
With furrowed brows, he raised a hand and slowly handed a scroll to Jiraiya: "The latest intel from the sensory unit, the newly appointed Raikage A and that Killer Bee ambushed one of our chunin squads last night, and all members including the squad leader... were killed in action!"
Jiraiya paused as he took the scroll, a heavy feeling as if he'd taken on a mountain, almost suffocating him... This was already the seventh chunin squad Konoha had lost....
Ever since the Third Raikage took advantage of the Kazekage's death and Sand's internal turmoil to invade the Land of Wind,
The Raikage successor with the name [A] acted like a madman, ignoring national boundaries and relations, targeting Konoha and Rock, turning the battlefield upside down,
Unintentionally, he brought immense pressure on him and that group from Rock!
Jiraiya sighed silently in his heart, his disdain for war had risen to a new level,
The man could no longer sit still, rose up, and, stepping on his wooden sandals, came to the window, observing the sunlight filtering through the lush forest, casting spots of light, he asked Shikaku in frustration after a long silence: "Shikaku, how can we get this damned war to end?"
The lives of Konoha's ninjas are lives, the lives of Sand's ninjas are lives, the lives of Rock's ninjas are lives, even Cloud, their village ninja's lives are lives too... The war up to now has caused death tolls in the tens of thousands, Jiraiya was truly sick of it, and had enough!
But as things stand in Konoha, with Orochimaru's betrayal, Tsunade giving up, the old man has to hold the rear, it's only him, it has to be him, holding the front lines to maintain the basics, laughable—
The mighty Land of Fire, the largest village in the ninja world, ended up in such a state with no one to use, should it be called Konoha's tragedy or Jiraiya's tragedy?
Truly... a wandering dragon should return to the sea, yet the sea doesn't welcome me.....
"Whoosh~" A breeze blew, carrying a few green leaves swirling into the tent.....
Nara Shikaku frowned, carefully pondering this question, comparing the current battlefield situation, as well as the summarized intel from the sensory unit, he glanced at Jiraiya, and asked: "How long until the rear support arrives?"
"I've already sent someone to urge the old man," Jiraiya caught a fallen leaf, not daring to promise Shikaku any specific dates, everything had to wait until Fukasaku brought back the old man's message......
Nara Shikaku held his chin, pondering for a long while before saying: "Like this, if White Fang led the team, along with your disciple Naruto, at least with those two, we wouldn't have to face such immense pressure."
The principle of unsustainable two-front combat is understood by both Jiraiya and Nara Shikaku, but who... doesn't want to take a bite out of Konoha?
Jiraiya and Shikaku clearly know that the war, up to now, has long surpassed what individual wishes can determine to end it, perhaps... even in the end, it won't be clear who won or lost, possibly, Konoha, Sand, Rock, and Cloud could all "win a lot,"
Just like Cloud's intention to block Rock's supply line at Kannabi Bridge,
Sand's intention to block Rock's supply line at Kannabi Bridge,
Konoha also wants to block Rock's supply line at Kannabi Bridge,
All won a lot... hilarious yet, somehow also... sorrowful.....
"I'm not talking about those," Jiraiya released the green leaf, watching as it slowly drifted away with the wind, he deeply gazed at Shikaku and said: "I want to know how we can prevent any more damn wars in the future in the ninja world!"
Nara Shikaku paused, his exceptional intelligence perceiving the strong sense of disgust and hatred in Jiraiya's tone,
Instinctively he wanted to blurt out... that's impossible... as long as there are people, there will be conflicts of interest, thus there will be war, but, facing Jiraiya's rare serious gaze, Nara Shikaku gulped, brows knit, contemplated for a long, long time, before he thought of a possibility——